The present invention relates to a pipe joint mounted to a fluid pressure device in use and more particularly to a pipe joint that can be easily attached to and detached from the fluid pressure device.
In general, in order to attach a pipe joint to a fluid pressure device, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 6-86916, for example, a screwing portion 62 formed on a stud 61 of a pipe joint 51 is screwed into a pipe screw 55 formed on a fluid pressure device 53 side (see FIG. 8).
However, in such a prior-art pipe joint 51, it is necessary to turn the stud 61 the required number of turns to screw the stud 61 down into the pipe screw 55 of the above fluid pressure device 53 in mounting of the pipe joint 51 to the fluid pressure device 53. Therefore, a large number of operation steps are required and the operation steps are complicated. Moreover, a tool such as a spanner is indispensable for attaching and detach the pipe joint 51.
Furthermore, it is necessary to provide for maintenance of a sealed property between the pipe screw 55 of the fluid pressure device 53 and a screwing portion 62 of the stud 61 of the pipe joint 51 by winding sealing tape around the screwing portion 62, applying sealant to the screwing portion 62, or the like, which further complicates the operation steps.
It is a technical object of the present invention to provide a pipe joint which can be attached to and detached from a fluid pressure device easily without necessity of using a tool such as a spanner and by which the operation steps for attaching and detaching the pipe joint to and from the fluid pressure device become easy.
To achieve the above object, a pipe joint of the invention comprises: a cylindrical socket mounted to a fluid pressure device for forming a connecting opening of flow paths; a cylindrical stud connected by airtightly inserting a tip end portion of the stud into the socket through a seal member; a joint main body connected when airtightly fitted over a base end portion of the stud through a seal member; and an elastic clip for locking the stud and the socket fitted with each other in a connected state, wherein the clip has a pair of paired members which extend in parallel with each other and can be opened and closed elastically and an operating portion for opening and closing the paired members, the socket has a pair of parallel clip housing grooves into which the pair of paired members of the clip are fitted in positions facing each other on an outer side face of the socket, the clip housing grooves extending in directions orthogonal to an axis of the socket and being cut to have such a depth as to reach a hollow portion within the socket, and the stud has a tapered face tapered so as to elastically spread the paired members of the clip in the housing grooves as the stud is inserted into the socket and a locking groove which is formed in a position adjacent to a base end portion of the tapered face and into which the paired members of the clip are fitted and locked.
In the invention, it is preferable that the pipe joint is formed such that the clip in the housing grooves is rotated about the axis of the socket to cause the clip to climb onto an outer wall of the socket, to spread the pair of paired members by the outer wall, and to enable the stud to be drawn out and a shallow coming off preventing groove into which the paired members are fitted is formed to be connected to the housing grooves on the outer wall of the socket so as to prevent the clip which has climbed onto the outer wall from dropping.
According to a concrete embodiment of the invention, the operating portion of the clip is formed of a connecting portion for connecting one end portions of the pair of paired members to each other and is formed to have a different height from the paired members by bending the end portions of the paired members upward into hook shapes when viewed from sides.
According to another concrete embodiment of the invention, the operating portions of the clip are respectively formed on opposite ends of the pair of paired members, one of the operating portions is formed of a connecting portion for connecting one end portions of the pair of paired members and is formed to have a different height from the paired members by bending the end portions of the paired members upward into hook shapes when viewed from sides, and the other of the operating portions is formed of end portions of the paired members on open sides extending along an outer peripheral face of the socket to cross each other, tip end portions of the paired members being bent into hook shapes in such directions as to extend away from the outer peripheral face of the socket.
It is preferable that contact faces for suppressing rotation of the stud when the contact faces come in contact with each other are formed on the socket and the stud.
In the pipe joint of the invention having the above structure, in order to connect the stud mounted with the joint main body to the socket fixed to the fluid pressure device, the stud is inserted into the socket, the tapered face elastically pushes and spreads the paired members of the clip while moving, and then, the stud is pushed into such a position that the paired members are fitted into the locking groove of the stud.
On the other hand, in order to detach the stud from the socket, the operating portion of the clip is operated to elastically spread the paired members of the clip. In this state, the stud is drawn out of the socket.
In this manner, according to the pipe joint of the invention, the stud can be attached to and detached from the socket easily and in a short time without necessity of using a tool such as a spanner. Therefore, the operation steps for attaching and detaching the pipe joint to and from the fluid pressure device become easy and operability can be improved.
In the above pipe joint, it is possible to suppress coming off of the clip from the socket in rotation of the clip in detaching the stud from the socket by forming a clip coming off preventing groove adjacent to the clip housing grooves on an outer peripheral face of the socket.
It is possible to suppress rotation of the stud with respect to the socket by forming contact faces between the socket and the stud.